(no subject)
I do have a favorite novel. Well, it's my favorite because of the effect it had on me, not because of the writing style or anything. The book is The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. I know I've said half a million times that I love this book, but I never really explained how it affected me personally.
In the book, the two main characters clash with one another. They're in love, they're out of love... they can't seem to mesh the way they should. Then, near the end of the novel, there's a chapter that describes their death in a horrible car accident. The chapters that conclude the book have nothing to do with their deaths however, instead they describe their acceptance of one another and of their universe. The focus was not their death, their ultimate fate, but their lives and the living of their lives.
I used to be obsessed with my mortality. I'm not sure when it happened or what triggered it, but it did exist at one point. It got to the point that I had horrible insomnia and stress. The thought that one day I would blink out of existence, that I was finite, was terribly frightening. I mean, what if I didn't achieve my goals, what if I didn't make an impact, what if none of my dreams were realized?
Then I read the book, and it... saved me from my fear. I remember the night that I read it, I sat up until
the early hours of the morning, just... so relieved and contemplative and resolute. I realized that I didn't need to have a big house or make tons of money or be super successful at school, all I needed were acceptance and drive and everything would be fine.
This book had a large impact on my views on fate and value.
I wish all books could be like that one.
What's your favorite book and why?
In the book, the two main characters clash with one another. They're in love, they're out of love... they can't seem to mesh the way they should. Then, near the end of the novel, there's a chapter that describes their death in a horrible car accident. The chapters that conclude the book have nothing to do with their deaths however, instead they describe their acceptance of one another and of their universe. The focus was not their death, their ultimate fate, but their lives and the living of their lives.
I used to be obsessed with my mortality. I'm not sure when it happened or what triggered it, but it did exist at one point. It got to the point that I had horrible insomnia and stress. The thought that one day I would blink out of existence, that I was finite, was terribly frightening. I mean, what if I didn't achieve my goals, what if I didn't make an impact, what if none of my dreams were realized?
Then I read the book, and it... saved me from my fear. I remember the night that I read it, I sat up until
the early hours of the morning, just... so relieved and contemplative and resolute. I realized that I didn't need to have a big house or make tons of money or be super successful at school, all I needed were acceptance and drive and everything would be fine.
This book had a large impact on my views on fate and value.
I wish all books could be like that one.
What's your favorite book and why?